Australian government clears John Holland sale

Australian Tresurer Joe Hockey has approved the acquisition of contractor John Holland by China Communications Construction Company (CCCC) following advice from the government's Foreign Investment Review Board (FIRB).

The deal worth some AU$ 1.15 billion (US$ 887 million) was struck by John Holland’s Owner, Leighton Holdings, in December as part of a restructuring and divestment programme.

John Holland has annual revenues of some AU$ 3.7 billion (US$ 2.9 billion), with a backlog of AU$ 5.4 billion (US$ 4.2 billion) and some 4,100 employees who will now transfer to CCCC.

John Holland is active in a range of sectors including civil engineering and infrastructure, as well as environmental, energy, minerals and industrial projects. It is active in Australia, New Zealand, South East Asia and the Middle East.

CCCC is one of the largest contractors in the world. In the 2014 edition of iC’s ranking of the world’s 200 largest construction companies, it was placed no.5 on a global level and the fourth biggest contractor in China behind China State Construction & Engineering (CSCEC), China Railway Construction, China Railway Group. Last year CCCC had revenues of CNY 461 billion (US$ 74.4 billion).